Residents escape fast-moving fire in Dover home

DOVER — Improper disposal of smoking materials is being eyed as the cause of a fire that spread quickly across the front porch of a multi-unit dwelling at the corner of Park Street and Ham Street early Saturday evening.

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

fosters.com

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

Posted Apr. 20, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Updated Apr 20, 2013 at 9:04 PM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

Posted Apr 20, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Updated Apr 20, 2013 at 9:04 PM

DOVER — Improper disposal of smoking materials is being eyed as the cause of a fire that spread quickly across the front porch of a multi-unit dwelling at the corner of Park Street and Ham Street early Saturday evening.

Residents managed to escape without injury and a dog was rescued from the home after a neighbor who spotted the flames banged on the door and alerted them to the danger.

The fire started at about 5:30 p.m. on the front porch of a building at 17-19 Park St. Fanned by strong winds, the flames engulfed the porch by the time Dover firefighters arrived.

“It went up the exterior of the building and out across the porch roof and into the second floor units,” Dover Fire Chief Richard Driscoll said. “There's some damage to the first floor interior unit and the second floor interior units on the left-hand side of the building.”

The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes. Firefighters were initiating a salvage operation by 6:30 p.m. Residents from two of the four units in the building are expected to be displaced by the fire, which caused an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 worth of damage, Driscoll said.

“You know, this is a 100-year-old building, and with the wind blowing here and the fire starting on the exterior, it burns very fast, so they were able to do a great job at keeping it to the limited damage we ended up with.”

Firefighters were contacting the Red Cross to potentially assist the residents who were displaced. Those who escaped injury included a woman and her young children. A firefighter was seen carrying a box of baby food out of the home after the fire was under control.

A neighbor at 7 Ham St. who watched the firefighting operation credited the fire department with a quick response that prevented even more destruction on the property.

“This was a great effort,” Driscoll said. “It's right around the corner from the fire station, but one of the best things is that we were manned at 12 today. We sometimes drop down to 11, but the 12-person manning made a big difference in this one. They were able to get two lines into the place.”